Can I use Avios for LATAM flights?
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Can you spend your Avios points on flights on LATAM?
In this article I want to look at how you can use your Avios to fly with partner airlines like LATAM.
Until a few years ago, LATAM was part of the oneworld alliance, a global airline alliance that included British Airways, Iberia, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific and more. This made it incredibly easy to earn and spend Avios on LATAM.
The good news is that, whilst LATAM is no longer part of oneworld, it is still possible to use your Avios to redeem for LATAM flights.
How do you book LATAM flights with Avios?
That said, using Avios to book flights on LATAM isn’t quite as easy as it used to be.
Since leaving oneworld, the only way to redeem Avios on LATAM is via Iberia Plus, the frequent flyer scheme of BA’s Spanish sister airline.
Fortunately you can easily move Avios from British Airways Executive Club to Iberia Plus by using the ‘Combine my Avios’ function (click for details).
Note that your Iberia Plus account needs to be at least 90 days old and have earned at least 1 Avios because you can move Avios across from BA. This is why it is best to open an Iberia Plus account before you think you will need it, so you are ready when the time comes.
Iberia prices LATAM redemptions off a separate chart to its normal redemptions, which you can see below.
Once you’ve got enough Avios in your Iberia Plus account you can simply book LATAM redemptions as you would a standard Iberia redemption flight. Go to iberia.com, log in and click ‘Book flights with Avios’ from the menu.
What are the cancellation rules on LATAM flights booked with Avios?
The cancellation and change fee rules are the same as if you had booked an Iberia flight. You can cancel your flight up to 24 hours before departure, either online or by calling Iberia.
100% of your Avios will be refunded.
Your taxes and charges payment will also be refunded, less a €25 cancellation fee per person. If the taxes and charges were less than €25 per person, you do not need to pay any extra.
How many Avios will I need to book on LATAM?
Iberia has a separate pricing chart for reward flights on partner airlines. Here is the table:
The table is miles based. To check the distance you want to fly, try using gcmap.com. Just enter your two airport codes and click ‘distance’.
As you can see, it is very easy to book LATAM flights with Avios points and it opens up a large number of new travel destinations for you.
You can find out more on the LATAM page of the Iberia website which is here.
(This article is part of our ‘BA Q&A’ series which explains how British Airways Executive Club works. You can see all of our ‘BA Q&A’ articles here. )
(Head for Points is the UK’s biggest frequent flyer website with 2.5 million monthly page views. Want to learn more about earning and spending Avios? Click here to read our latest news stories and click here to join the mailing list for our weekly or daily email newsletters.)
